Hi all,

I am really sorry it took so long for me to upload the next chapter. I was sick and then work became very hectic. Now that my life is (starting to) back to normal, I can do some writing again.

Anyway, I am not really satisfied with this chapter. But, oh well. Let me know what you think about this chapter. I would love to hear the good and bad.

This chapter is dedicated for someone (who doesnt want to be named) who requested to have a chapter about class reunion.

If you have any idea about a topic/theme, feel free to let me know. I'll see what I can do.

More lemon will come in the next chapter.

For now, enjoy!

Edana

Chapter 3. Class Reunion

"Aki. Oh. My. God. You still look the same!" Mana squealed from across the room as soon as she noticed me entering.

I laughed. "And you, Mana-chan, is still as loud as ever!"

Cheery greetings from my ex-classmates welcomed me. Most made similar comments as Mana-chan's. Indeed, compared to most of my friends, who had gained weight or grown bald, I didn't change much.

After briefly scanning the restaurant's private room that we had booked for the evening, I found two of my best friends sitting near the window. Unlike Kou, who waved excitedly at me, Takato merely nodded. Our relationship had been better since Takato's dramatic outburst at Asami's hospital more than a decade ago, but it had never been the same. We hung out, laughed and, occasionally, joked at each other, but from that point on, Takato had always kept his distance.

"So, how have you been, Aki? I heard that you became a freelance photographer," someone asked me.

"I saw your name on an article about Bhutan in National Geographic a few months ago. Recognized it right away, the one and only Takaba Akihito. Must be tough to keep traveling here and there," other added.

I just grinned. I had decided long time ago to keep using my own name, instead of Asami's surname, in my photos and articles. I wanted to separate him and his so-called business from my work. My work was something private, something that belonged only to me, something that even Asami with all his money had no power to control.

I used the little money that I earned to pay for our food and household needs, and somehow it gave me an illusion of normalcy, a feeling that we were just another normal family. I might be a hypocrite by doing so. But I tried to keep reminding myself that it was Asami whom I loved, not his business. Surely it made a difference.

"Yeah. We gotta do what we gotta do to pay the bills, man," I casually answered instead.

Laughter rang out.

"It is true," another one commented. "The economy has sunk badly these past few years. Layoff everywhere."

"My company asked its employees to take voluntary unpaid leave for a month. It is either that or getting a layoff. It is difficult."

"Geez, I was planning to have my own house when I hit 30s. Now I am nearing 38 and I haven't even came close to my goal."

"Did you heard that Keiko's husband got fired last year?" one of the women started to gossip. "And they have three young kids to feed. Her family has it bad. I heard that is why she doesn't want to come to our class reunion tonight."

"Well, it must be hard working as a freelance photographer in this economy," a familiar mocking voice drowned all complains. "I meant, it won't give you a stable income, right? I doubt a good woman will want to marry a man with such financial situation. No wonder you haven't married yet, Takaba."

The entire room fell into an uncomfortable silent. Slowly, I turned around.

Nakano Daiki gave me a sly leer. "What? It is true, isn't it? How hard it is to become a photographer? Everyone with a good and expensive camera can become one. Easy peasy!"

"Nakano! You-" Kou started, but I stopped him with a wave of my hand.

"Oh, hello, Nakano. Long time no see," I greeted the man who had always hated me for no apparent reason. Obviously, the feeling had been mutual. "It seems growing old does nothing to improve your manner."

To my surprise, Nakano didn't change much since our time in high school. The man had a small face with the straight nose that many people might categorize as handsome. His body wasn't too muscular and he didn't really have a broad shoulder. However, what he missed in those areas was replaced by his height. Combined it with his good grades and rich family, and he had been quite popular back in school. Both for good and bad reasons.

Nakano made an annoying smirk that made my hand itchy to punch him. I took a deep breath. 'Violence is never the answer, kiddos.' Silently, I repeated what I had always told my kids. I believed in teaching my children by setting an example instead of ordering them to do something that I couldn't even do. And getting into a fight with Nakano just because of a few nasty words would set a very bad example to my kids.

"Say whatever you want, Takaba. Everyone knows it is true."

"Yeah. Yeah," I gave him my best smile before ignoring him completely, remembering how much he'd hated me doing that.

Ever since our time in high school, Nakano had always been an asshole. Having a wealthy family, he thought that he held power over other people. It wasn't a secret that he often bullied other students and made fun of them. Many of my friends had let him had his ways because his father was an influential person in our town, a middle-rank politician or something. But not me. My stubbornness on not kissing his ass had sharpened his hatred towards me. I couldn't remember how many times I'd had to come to the counselling room after a fight with him or how often Kou and Takato had gotten injured to defend me from him and his stupid goons.

"Please, don't mind him, Aki," Mana-chan whispered nervously. "Nakano married right after his graduation from the law school. His father-in-law is the CEO of Nishimura Group. So, you know…"

She made a dismissive gesture as if the fact that Nakano had married a reputable woman from a bloody rich family was more than enough to explain Nakano's bad manner.

"Whoa," someone whispered from my other side. "You meant the only daughter and child of Nishimura Naoto? So Nakano is…what, the heir of the biggest group in the region?"

"More or less," Mana-chan shrugged. "My mother worked as a secretary at the company. So, I kinda heard a lot of gossip about him. Since his marriage with the daughter of Nishimura Naoto, Nakano has been appointed as the director of the legal affair department. The youngest one ever. Some people said that he will take over the company soon."

Most people in my table whistled in amazement. "Damn, lucky son of a bitch. Guess he is the most successful among us all."

"Seriously?" Kou snorted. "He is just an asshole and a gold digger, that's what he is. I pity his wife for having to bear with him."

Takato chuckled at Kou's comment and everyone moved on to the next topic. For the next hour or so, we chatted as we ate. The food was not bad. Of course, it was nothing compared to the food served in Asami's five stars restaurants! But it felt good to talk to my old friends again. Most were married. Some had divorced. Almost all had kids. They proudly showed their kids' photos saved in their smartphones. I noticed the longing in Kou's eyes as he looked at the photos of our friends' children. Kou always loved children, yet he still stayed a bachelor up until now. Obviously, Takato noticed it too, because he gently patted Kou's shoulder.

"How about you, Aki? Any girlfriend? Do I need to visit Tokyo anytime soon for your wedding?" Mana-chan asked goodheartedly.

"Ummmm," I started, feeling unsure on how well my old friends could understand my unusual situation. Noticing my discomfort, Kou opened his mouth to help. But before he could say anything, my phone rang.

"Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone

I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run

You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess

It's a love story baby just say yes"

Everyone in the room looked at me for a few silent seconds before bursting into loud laughter.

"Geez, Aki," Mana-chan managed to say between her giggles. "The ringtone is a bit too cheesy for you, isn't it? Did your girlfriend force you to use it?"

Instead of answering her, for which I didn't know what to say, I just muttered, "Sorry, need to take this call."

"Ooooh, Aki's girlfriend is caaaaalling," my friends mocked behind me.

I glared at them, catching the way Kou hiding his laughter behind the glass that he held and Takato frowning while shaking his head, knowing fully well who was the caller.

"Umm, what's up?" I greeted my husband, feeling hesitant to call his name or to show any affection openly in front of my old friends.

"What kind of greeting is that, Akihito?" Asami complained. "Anyway, how's your class reunion party?"

"Good," I answered hastily. "We will move to…umm, another bar after this. Where are you and…," I scanned my brain for any words to refer to my kids without causing suspicion from my friends, and failed miserably, so I merely continued, "…the others?"

There was a brief pause. "...the others?" Asami's voice was hard-edged, every word pronounced carefully as if he wasn't sure he had heard correctly.

"I meant-"

"Oooh, ooooh," someone purposely faked a panting sound behind me, apparently thinking that it would be funny to stir some problem between me and the imaginary girlfriend. I could see Kou and Takato snorted with suppressed laughter at the others' antics, obviously enjoying the thought of me getting into troubles. Traitors. "Aki, aaahhh….stop talking to your phone and do me harder….aaaahhh….yes, like that….," another of my friends squealed in high pitch voice, feigning a sensual sigh at the end of his scream.

"Akihito?" Asami's voice dropped a few decibels lower, a clear warning dripping from every syllable.

More people faked various different sex sounds near me, turning my class reunion into a sort of imaginary orgy and laughing loudly as I pushed them away. Quickly, I made my way outside the room.

"Sorry, ignore them. My friends were just being silly," I told Asami as soon as I managed to get out, purposely keeping my voice low in case they could still hear me from inside the room. I wasn't in the mood to explain my…well, my unique circumstances to my friends. I meant, seriously, how should a man explain to his old friends that he had a sociopath crime lord as his husband and now was taking care three children, two of which were mothered by said crime lord's mistress? It sounded too much like a cheap TV drama even to my own ears. There was no way I was going to tell my friends that. Especially not when Asami could hear it. "So, are you and the kids done with dinner?"

It was silence that met my question.

"Ryu?"

More silence, which usually meant nothing good. Then, "Yeah, we are done with dinner, Akihito. Anyway, tell me the name of the bar. I'll pick you up in two hours. That should be enough time for you."

Great. Asami and his infamous control freak tendency. I guessed, being in control came as an instinct for him. He was used to controlling his business and life, so he thought that he could do the same in our relationship. And even after all those years living together and knowing each other's faults, his domineering trait is the one thing that still annoyed me to no end.

"What?! No way! Why do you need to pick me up? I'll go back when I want to go back! You go ahead with the kids! They need to sleep!"

"They are in holiday, Akihito, they can sleep slightly later. Besides, the twins are old enough to sleep whenever they want."

"No, no, you need to bring them back to the hotel. The twins might sleep whenever they want, but Mizuki can't. It is past her sleeping time already and we can't leave her alone in the hotel!"

"Fine. I'll bring the kids back to the hotel THEN pick you up," he answered evenly as if it would solve all problems on earth. "Or Kirishima can just bring them with the other car."

I exhaled loudly, trying to keep my annoyance under control. I knew, I knew. It was immature. But, seriously, I couldn't help it! The way Asami had avoided my main point always drove me crazy.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, and then took another deep, calming one for good measure, before answering through gritted teeth, "Thanks, but no, thanks, Ryu. I don't need you to pick me up."

He snorted, "It is late night already, Akihito. It is not safe."

"Listen, this isn't Tokyo. The most interesting crime that has ever happened in this town was most probably a missing cat case!"

"Well, you might get lost," he made another excuse casually.

I lost my patience then. "Damnit, Ryu! I grew up in this town; I know the streets like the back of my hand! I don't need YOU or anyone else to babysit me!"

I hanged up. Then, I turned off my phone.

There. It should teach him a lesson. I was a 37 years old man, not a 10 years old boy. I could take care of myself. Asami better got that fact through his thick skull.

Satisfied, I went back inside to enjoy the night with my old friends.

Three hours later and I started to think maybe Asami was right, after all. It seemed my childhood town wasn't as safe as I had remembered it.

I was still not sure who had thrown the first hit or even what had actually happened. Everything had happened really fast. One second, Kou had accidentally bumped into a girl at the club that we had visited. It wasn't even intentional. Then, the next second, he had been lying face up on the floor, gripping his nose with blood all over his face.

It was obvious that those people who had picked a fight with us were yakuzas, and they were clearly drunk. We should know better than going into a fight with drunken yakuzas. But when they'd started kicking Kou in the ribs like he was some garbage bag, yelling all kind of obscenities with such hatred, my old friends and I, pumped with adrenaline and alcohol, had instinctively shoved them back hard to defend Kou.

Now, after we all had sobered up, four men and two women (the rest had gone home earlier, thank God!) sitting in a small room at the nearest police station, I felt oh, so very stupid. Kou was in the hospital with a broken nose and fractured ribs, and we were in the police station. What a great class reunion. I could just imagine what Asami would say if he ever found out.

"Can you shut the fuck up?!" Nakano snapped at Mana-chan, who sobbed softly beside me. The poor woman instantly froze in fear.

"Give her a break, Nakano." I told him while checking the bruises on my arms and stomach that had started to turn blue. Shit, Asami wouldn't be happy about this. How could I explain all these bruises?

"Oh, it is easy for you to say that, Takaba! You don't have any reputation to care about! Me?! I am an important man! What will people say? And I didn't even hit anyone! It was Kou's fault all along!"

"Kou didn't do anything wrong, damnit, Nakano!" I snapped back at him.

"Well, you are a lawyer, aren't you, Nakano?" Takato said from across the tiny room. "Can't you do something?"

Nakano opened his mouth but before he could say anything, a voice cut him short. "I doubt even a lawyer could do much for you all at this point."

A police officer stood at the entrance of the room. He looked to be in his fifties, grey giving an accent to his black hair. He seemed nice. His face was emotionless but his eyes were filled with silent sympathy. He sighed, entering the room slowly before closing the door behind him. "It seems you will need to spend the night here."

Nakano argued, "You can't do something like that! We have the right to-"

"You guys were picking a fight with the biggest yakuza group in Japan. They were not happy about this. I doubt they will care about any of your right at all. In fact, staying the night in jail might be safer than being attacked at the middle of the night."

"In jail?!" One of my old friends gasped.

"They were the one who picked a fight!" I shouted.

"It doesn't matter who provoked it-"

"Aren't you policemen supposed to protect us, civilian?" Mana-chan asked in between her tears.

"I can't go into jail!" Nakano added. Horror decorated his face, most probably worrying about what his rich wife and influential father-in-law would say.

"Listen, I am just trying to help you all, okay? They are outside claiming you guys had hurt a few of their members and they won't stop until they can get you!"

"They won't dare to hurt me! I am Nakano Daiki, the heir to Nishimura Group," Nakano claimed proudly.

"And you think they care?" The officer looked at him in exasperation. He sounded as if he was talking to a petulant child instead of a grown up man. Somehow, it reminded me of Asami. Fuck, how would Asami react if I didn't go back to the hotel tonight? We'd had to surrender our phone when we'd entered the police station so I couldn't let Asami know where I was. My family had to be worried sick. Now, I started to feel guilty.

"Of course they will care! I am-"

"I know who you are, young master. No need to repeat it," the officer continued with a mock smile on his face. "But trust me, you and your in-law family is nothing against the Fukuda-gumi. You might be a big shot in the region, but they are the biggest in Japan. Next time you go into trouble, you better remember that your rich family might not be able to protect you forever."

The short speech shocked Nakano and it shut him up immediately. His eyes widened in fear and his face paled. The hard truth evidently had shaken him to the core.

My blood froze at the mention of Fukuda-gumi. I recognised the name right away, thanks to my investigative photography background. It was a powerful yakuza syndicate with a lot of connection in the police forces. They had also been linked to some high-ranking politicians. Fukuda-gumi mainly got their profits from selling drugs and underground prostitution. Their leader, Hayashi Taro, was a ruthless and violent man. He'd been convicted for various physical and sexual abuses but had always managed to get away.

"Please, sir, is there anything we can do to fix the situation? We didn't even start the fight. They hit our friend first for nothing," Mana-chan tried to argue one more time.

The officer merely shrugged, "It seems you all had disturbed the wrong bee hive. The girl your friend bumped into is apparently the current lover of Hayashi Taro, the group leader. And he is-"

I cut him off, "-known to be the extremely jealous type. He killed people for even touching his lover. Or lovers."

The police officer looked at me in surprise. I smiled bitterly at him, "I worked as a freelance investigative photographer for criminal section before."

He shook his head slowly. "I am sorry. I am just following order here. Trust me, I don't like this anymore than you do. But there is only so much I can do."

Mana-chan's sobs turned into a muffled cry.

"Lets just pray that everything will calm down soon. At this point, however, with Fukuda-gumi being involved, only God can get you out of here tonight," the police officer said before turning around to leave the room. "The guard will bring you to where you are going to spend the night today."

Indeed. Bearing in mind how dangerous Fukuda-gumi is, only God can help us, I silently agreed.

Shit. I hated to do what I was going to do but I didn't have many options at the moment.

The police officer was right. Fukuda-gumi was too dangerous for us to play with. I was used to handling dangerous situation, but my friends weren't. And my biggest concern was Kou. We were relatively safe while we were here, inside the police station. Of course, unless they paid someone in the police force to beat us into a pulp, again. But Kou was out there without protection. And I wouldn't let anything bad happened to any of my friends.

"Wait, could I just make one phone call, please?" I stepped in the officer's path before he exited the room, putting my best innocent smile on my face.

"At the moment, you are not allowed-"

"Just one phone call? Please? I beg you?"

"I told you, even if you called your lawyer-"

"No, I am not going to call a lawyer."

"Then, who?" The officer raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

"Um, let's just say…God?" I gave him a sour smile.

Thankfully, said god answered my call right away.

"Hi, it is me."

"Where are you, Akihito?" Asami's voice was so smooth and deliberate that I knew right away I was in deep trouble. Suddenly I felt as if I was 10 again.

"Umm, it is a long story…just don't be angry, okay?"

Silence. Had I told you that Asami being this silence had never meant anything good?

"Ugh, are you there?" I sneaked a glance at my friends who all sat behind me. Takato was the only one who had a knowing look in his eyes. He had to be able to guess who I was calling. The rest looked as puzzled as the poor police officer.

"Continue," Asami simply said.

"But you have to promise to stay calm, okay?"

"I'll decide whether to be angry or not after I listen to what you want to say. Not before."

I shrugged. Fine. If that was what he wanted. "I need a favour," I said before explaining the situation. I told him everything, from how Kou had bumped into the girl to how we had ended up here, special thanks to Fukuda-gumi.

"Hmmm." That was his only reaction when I had finished talking.

"So?" I held my breath in anticipation of his anger.

"So, what?" His tone was cool and even. He didn't seem to be perturbed at all by the news. Which was a bit weird.

"Was that all that you are going to say?"

"Well, you clearly announced that you didn't need anyone to babysit you. And I agree. I shouldn't have interfered with your life," he said with an emphasis on the words 'your life'. After a short pause, he continued, amusement clear in his voice, "Surely you can take care of your problem yourself?"

Damn Asami and his ego! I understood what had happened. I had hurt his feeling. I knew it seemed impossible, but apparently the great Asami, the crime lord who ruled Japan, also had feeling. He just didn't show it much and even when he did, he just displayed it in front of a handful of people that he really, really trusted.

So, he was sulking like a child just because I had hurt his feeling with a few careless words. And for someone who had so little patience, Asami could hold a grudge for a surprisingly very, very long time. Unmistakably, now he was going to wait until I ask –or even beg- for his help.

In front of me, the police officer silently tapped his watch, signaling that I would be better hurrying up. He shouldn't allow me to make a phone call. But, he felt pity on us that he had decided to let me borrow his phone for a few minutes.

"Come on, now is not the time to hold grudges. Can't you just forget our quarrel already?" I practically barked, hoping I could avoid begging him in front of my friends.

"Oh, I don't remember we had a quarrel. It was more like you-running-away-by-turning-off-your-phone. Which wasn't a very mature behavior, in my opinion, Akihito," he pointed out needlessly.

"Phft," I snorted. "The sulking one just called me immature!"

"We made a promise. No more running away. Ever. Remember?"

I opened my mouth to snap back at him. But the police officer tapped his watch repeatedly, making a point that my time was up. Okay, now was not the time to have another pointless argument. Panicking, I finally begged him in a rush, "Fine, I am sorry, okay? It won't happen again. There. Happy? Now, can you please get us out of here? I really don't have time for this. I need to make sure that Kou is safe!"

He sighed. Or more precisely, he feigned a sigh as if he was a saint who was about to make life-shattering sacrifice by forgiving me. "You owe me one."

"What do you mean I owe you one? It is not like I ask your favor everyday! And you are my…." I stopped, finally noticing that all my friends were staring intently at me. Even the police officer was looking at me with curiosity clear on his face now. Quickly, I lowered my voice, "Well, anyway, bottom line is we should help each other, right?"

"Your what?" He asked calmly instead.

"Damnit, just get us out or else…"

"I. am. your. what?" He repeated, emphasizing each word with a pause. I was sure he was enjoying this. Stupid, perverted Asami!

I wanted to make a witty retort. But he knew me way too well, because he casually continued, "For someone who is needing my favor, you better watch your attitude, Akihito."

Argghh.

Ignoring all the stares that were directed at me, my face burning hot with embarrassment, I closed my eyes before answering him, "You are my…well, my lover. And lovers help each other without keeping tabs about it! So, no, I don't owe you anything! Thank you! Now, move your lazy ass!"

His pleased chuckle was seriously infuriating. I could clearly imagine the annoying smirk on his face.

"Give me ten minutes, Akihito."

Apparently, Asami didn't even need ten minutes to get us out of there. Just a few minutes after I hanged up, the officer received a call, presumably from his boss because he talked very politely and carefully. He even bowed in respect to the person who was calling him, though that person wouldn't be able to see him.

"You guys can leave now," he said once he had finished the call. "The Fukuda-gumi had agreed that they will not take any legal –or illegal– action against you all."

"What?" Nakano asked as if he couldn't believe what he had heard.

"I told you to go home. Everything was settled. I doubt Fukuda-gumi would give you any more trouble."

Wow, that was fast. I had to admit that I was kinda impressed. As always, the question of how wealthy and powerful Asami truly was crossed my mind. But for once, I felt grateful instead of troubled. I was really worried about my friends, and Asami's interference helped us a lot.

Glancing at me, the officer simply stated, "That was a very powerful lover you have there. Must be one hell of a woman."

I just shrugged. What could I say? It was true. Well, except for the woman part.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Takato shaking his head, but his expression mirrored my relief. All my friends, especially Nakano, gaped at me as if I was a rare endangered species. I could feel my face hot and I was sure that I was red to the tip of my ears.

"Let's go, guys," I murmured softly.

Stunned, my friends silently followed my lead to get the hell out of the police station. The officer brought us to the lobby, helped us to gather our stuffs and let us go. That was it. There wasn't any paperwork that we need to fill. They even bowed on our way out as if we were some sorts of VIP customers.

Outside, a sleek red Porsche and a black Mercedes parked at the opposite side of the police station. Kirishima stood in front of one of the cars, waiting. I spotted him right away and quickly crossed the road. His stance was stiff as he glared daggers at me. Plainly, he wasn't happy to be outside at 4AM in the morning.

"Akihito-sama," he greeted me when we got near, slightly bowing his head.

The surprised look on Nakano's face made my embarrassment more bearable. It wasn't like I wanted to brag about Asami's wealth. But it was nice to be able to shut Nakano's mouth for a little while. I was tired listening to him talking about how important and successful he was.

"My god, Aki, who is your girlfriend actually?" Mana-chan asked, her mouth hanging open in amazement. She looked back and forth between Kirishima, the two imported cars, and me. "You need to let us meet her! We need to thank her for her kind help."

"Ummm, no need. It is nothing serious," I glanced at Kirishima who remained stoic while standing beside the open car door, pretending he was not listening to our conversation. Without any doubt, Asami would receive a complete report about this conversation tomorrow morning. I needed to be careful if I didn't want to be Asami's laughing stock.

"So, you have a rich girlfriend after all?" Jealousy was clear in Nakano's voice. There was no doubt it was because he would no longer be the center of everyone's attention. Nakano had always hated it when someone shone brighter than him. "Why haven't you said anything? What does she do?"

"It is just…a…well, let's just say, she is doing her family business."

"Family business?" Nakano asked quickly. He narrowed his eyes on me as if he wanted to make sure whether I told him the truth or not. "What kind of family business?"

I sighed. "Import and export, I guess. More or less." Silently, I added, most probably, illegal stuffs like weapons or drugs or maybe even humans, though I haven't managed to get any evidence so far.

"So, how long have you been together?" Mana-chan squealed in excitement. "You didn't tell us before!"

I stuttered for words and I could feel heat rose up my cheeks. "Well…I don't think it is important."

I could only imagine how red my face was. Hopefully, the street lamp was dimmed enough to hide my face in the dark.

"Oh he was blushing! Oh my god, Aki, it is so sweet! You must be truly in love!" The women screamed enthusiastically.

Or not.

"You need to introduce us! We want to thank her directly!"

Yeah, right. Thank her properly, my ass. I bet they just wanted to see my imaginary girlfriend so that they could gossip about it.

"She must be really special till you want to hide her from us!"

Very special, indeed.

"Come on, Aki. Don't be stingy!"

I had enough. "Fine. Fine. Next time, okay? Not tonight. I am dead tired and I bet you are, too. Come on, I'll send you home."

Quickly, I led them to the two cars that had been waiting for us. Feeling extremely exhausted, I didn't take our conversation seriously. I just wanted to go back to the hotel and had a long sleep. Little did I know I would regret the promise I rashly made to my old friends.

Asami stared at the sleeping form of his husband, savoring the peaceful moment before he had to start his day.

Akihito'd crawled to bed sometime early morning. Without a word, his husband had snuggled to Asami's side, sneaking under Asami's arm and making his hard chest into a pillow. Asami had pretended to sleep, but they both had known that Asami wasn't sleeping at all. Asami was a light sleeper and even the slightest movement would wake him up.

"Thank you," Akihito had whispered softly before he'd fell asleep. Asami hadn't said anything. He'd simply held Akihito closer to his body, enjoying the feeling of Akihito's silky skin against his side.

He had tried to sleep after that but he'd found that he couldn't. So he simply took his cigarette box and lighted one, resigning to the idea that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Well, never mind, he had a meeting with Takamiya soon anyway.

As was the case lately, the thought of having a meeting with Takamiya made him restless. He didn't like how Takamiya had expanded his business so aggressively. Especially not since the new anti-organized-crime law left Asami with so few options to defend or protect his business.

He inhaled more of the toxic smoke to calm himself and before long he had lighted another stick. Mizuki-chan would be really angry if she found out how much he had smoked recently. Her daughter had tried to make him stop for years, but he just couldn't. His longing for cigarette was one of the two things in this world that he couldn't control. The other one was soundly asleep beside him.

Trying not to disturb his husband, Asami run his fingers through the blond locks. There were a few new purplish bruises along the cheekbone, and more on Akihito's body. Automatically, Asami scowled in anger. He hated it when Akihito was hurt. But tonight, it was partially his fault.

He'd almost flipped in anger when Akihito had told him through the phone about having a fight with members of Fukuda-gumi. It'd been out of sheer will that he could stay stay composed. He'd needed Akihito to know how annoyed Asami was every time his younger husband decided to run away without words. Which was why he had held back from fussing over Akihito.

Asami spent a few more silent minutes watching Akihito's peaceful expression before he got out of the warm hotel bed, deciding to take a quick shower before his early morning meeting. When he finally got out of his bedroom, Kirishima and Tao had been waiting for him at the suite's lounge.

"Rikiya-sama and Nao-sama went ahead to have breakfast," Kirishima informed him. He merely nodded. If there was one healthy habit that Akihito had managed to drill into their children, it was to always have breakfast before starting the day. Nao wouldn't even kill anyone without having a breakfast first, as stupid as it sounded.

Joining Akihito to come back to his childhood town was a last minute decision.

The Takamiyas had suggested a truce, and Asami had thought that this small town was a perfect place to discuss the terms and conditions of their peace accord. The town was located in a neutral zone and it was quiet. The fact that the town had nothing much made it safe to assume that their meeting wouldn't attract unwanted attention from the government. The new law really was a pain in the ass for them all and he had to be extra careful if he wanted to stay out of the authorities' radar.

"What time will our meeting with the Takamiyas be?" he asked Kirishima as they walked towards the lift to meet the twins.

"It will be on 8.30. We still have enough time," the answer came smoothly without missing a beat, another proof of Kirishima's efficiency.

"Anything else for today?"

"You will have lunch with Akihito-sama and the children at 2PM before we all head back to Tokyo," Kirishima replied.

Tao cleared his throat before he added, "Hayashi Taro from Fukuda-gumi called this morning to apologize for his members' behavior. He felt he had disappointed you when he found out that his subordinates had hurt Akihito-sama. He assured us that those responsible had been punished."

In short, it meant that they were dead. Too bad. He wanted to kill them himself, however he understood the rules.

Besides, it was also his fault. He should have told them clearly to make sure not to hurt Akihito when he'd called them last night. But, he had been so annoyed with Akihito's attitude that he'd forgotten to make it clear. Shouldn't have trusted those brainless low class yakuzas, he thought. You give them one job and somehow they can still mess it up.

He'd just wanted to scare Akihito. That was why he had called Fukuda-gumi in the first place. But apparently his plan had backfired. He didn't expect the yakuzas to be drunk and Akihito to fight back, which had ended up with Akihito being hurt.

He sighed. Well, what was done was done. At least now, Akihito would think twice before he hanged up on Asami. No matter how old Akihito was, to Asami he was always his boy. Akihito always thought that he could take care of himself, which wasn't the case at all. His husband better got that fact through his thick skull.

There. It should teach Akihito a lesson.

Satisfied, Asami went to attend his meeting with the Takamiyas.